1“Hear this, O priests!Take heed, O house of Israel!Give ear, O royal house!For this judgment is against youbecause you have been a snare atMizpah,anet spread out on Tabor.2The rebels are deep in slaughter;but I will chastise them all.3I know all about Ephraim,†and Israel is not hidden from Me.For now, O Ephraim,you have turned to prostitution;Israelis defiled.4Their deeds do not permit themto return to their God,for a spirit of prostitution is within them,and they do not know the LORD.5Israel’s arrogance testifies against them;Israeland Ephraim stumble in their iniquity;even Judah stumbles with them.ⓘThe people might think that they could win...
The people might think that they could win God’s favor with their sacrifices, but Hosea warned them that they would not find him; God had left them to the consequences of their sin.
6They go with their flocksand herdsto seek the LORD,but they do not find Him;He has withdrawn Himself from them.7They have been unfaithful to the LORD;for they have borne illegitimate children.Now the New Moon† will devour themalong with their land.ⓘHosea sounded the alarm to warn the Israelites...
Hosea sounded the alarm to warn the Israelites of God’s coming judgment. Because of their sins, the Lord had become Israel’s enemy and would punish them.
Gibeah, Ramah, and Beth-aven (Bethel) are all cities in the tribal territory of Benjamin.
8Blow the ram’s hornin Gibeah,the trumpetin Ramah;raise the battle cry in Beth-aven:†Lead on, O Benjamin!9Ephraim will be laid wasteon the day of rebuke.Among the tribes of IsraelI proclaim what is certain.10The princes of Judahare like those who move boundary stones;†I will pour out My furyupon them like water.11Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment,for he is determined to follow worthless idols.†12So I am like a mothto Ephraim,and like decay to the house of Judah.13When Ephraim saw his sicknessand Judah his wound,then Ephraim turned to Assyriaand sent to the great king.†But he cannot cure youor heal your wound.14For I am like a lionto Ephraimand like a young lion to the house of Judah.I, even I, will tear them to piecesand then go away.I will carry them offwhere no one can rescue them.15Then I will return to My placeuntil they admit theirguilt and seek My face;in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”
Commentary
Hosea 5:1
Hosea again condemns the religious and political leaders of Israel. They have led the people into idolatry as hunters trap wild animals in a snare.
The specific sins at Mizpah and Tabor are not known.
Commentary
Hosea 5:2
I will settle with you: God’s judgment (Hebrew musar, “discipline”) would inevitably fall upon Israel’s leaders. God did not judge Israel simply to punish them, but to correct them so that his people would return to him.
Commentary
Hosea 5:3
you are utterly defiled: The word translated defiled is used frequently in the Pentateuch to describe ritual uncleanness, a physical condition that disqualified a person from worshiping God in the Temple (Lev 11–15). The prophets used the concept as a metaphor for Israel’s moral uncleanness as the result of her idolatry (Isa 6:5; Mic 2:10).
Commentary
Hosea 5:4
Israel’s idolatrous practices were so ingrained that they were apparently powerless to return to the Lord.
You are a prostitute through and through (literally the spirit of prostitution is within them): Israel’s sin was not simply a behavior; it was the nation’s essential nature. They instinctively preferred the corrupt to the pure. Only through God’s work of salvation could Israel escape.
thieves (literally those who move a boundary marker): The Lord was the owner of the land, which he entrusted to the tribes following the conquest (see Josh 13:8–19:51). To move a boundary marker and change God’s allotted boundaries was to steal from God (Deut 19:14). Such an act rightly invoked divine punishment (Deut 27:17).
Commentary
Hosea 5:12
as a moth . . . rotten wood: Sin can destroy the very fabric and foundation of a people while leaving them unaware that the destruction has taken place.
Commentary
Hosea 5:13
In a final effort to avoid complete destruction, the Israelites overthrew King Pekah and placed a new king, Hoshea, on the throne. Hoshea then appealed to the Assyrian king Shalmaneser for peace (2 Kgs 15:29–30; 17:3), but these diplomatic maneuvers could neither help nor cure Israel—they would soon be destroyed by Assyria.
Commentary
Hosea 5:15
Hosea again reminded Israel that divine judgment was not merely punitive. God’s purpose was to convince Israel to admit their guilt and return to the Lord (see 2:2, 14).